The Jury by Steve Martini Read Free Book Online Page A

reaches into the bag again and comes up with a device that looks like a pistol with a long trigger. He holds it up for the jury and the judge to see, and we all examine this, though we have seen it before.
    "This is specifically designed for tightening cable ties. The open end fits in here." He feeds the open end of the tie into what would be the barrel of the gun until it hits bottom, then works the trigger. The tool grips the tie, and with each pull of the trigger more than two hundred pounds of pressure can be applied to the tie. The physics of leverage.
    "Do you think the killer attached a tool like this to the tie used to kill Kalista Jordan .. .?"
    "Yes."
    "Let me finish the question, Doctor. Do you think the killer used
    a tool like this, and that he or she did this in preparation for the murder?"
    "I do," says Schwimrner.
    "We found small impressions on the nylon tie used to kill the victim. These marks are consistent with a tool of this type, which is commonly used and sold with the cable ties.
    "Also," says Schwimmer, "such a tool would give the killer great leverage. The assailant would not have to pull the thin nylon with the hands."
    "Is that important?"
    "Yes. Given the pressure applied, the nylon could easily have cut the hands."
    Tannery takes all this in, nodding as he paces a few feet away from the jury box.
    Now he moves toward the witness.
    "Doctor, can you demonstrate how you believe the killer in this case applied the cable tie around the neck of Kalista Jordan?"
    "Sure. I can do that." Schwimmer gets up from the witness chair and comes out of the box into the well just beyond the clerk's desk. There before the judge and jury, with Tannery playing victim, the coroner approaches from behind. Deftly he slips the looped cable tie over the D.A."s head and swiftly pulls on the gun-handled tool to tighten it just short of full tension. There is the sound of an audible zip as the nylon teeth slip through the tiny locking yoke.
    "Once it is snug," says Schwimmer, "the killer would work the trigger on the tensioning device to tighten it. Two or three pulls would do it."
    "Thank you. I think that's enough, Doctor." Tannery tries to remove the tie by lifting it over his head, but it has been closed too far. It is clear to me, perhaps not to the jury, that the witness and Tannery have rehearsed this. The clerk has to lend Schwimmer a pair of good-sized scissors in order to cut the loop and remove it from around Tannery's neck. The witness steps back up into the witness box and takes a seat.
    The D.A. is left feeling with one hand around his throat, a not so subtle gesture for the benefit of the jury.
    "All things considered, and assuming the element of surprise," he says, "this would be a very effective weapon, would it not, Doctor?"
    "Oh, yes. And silent. It makes very little noise."
    "Once it's locked in place and tightened, it can't be removed except by cutting the nylon tie. Is that right?" As if Tannery had not just proved the point.
    "Yes. That is correct."
    Tannery heads back toward his counsel table, begs the court's indulgence and looks over a few notes, flipping pages as if to find his place, then comes back toward the box.
    "Let me ask you, Doctor. You had an opportunity to observe the ligature that was used in this case before it was removed from Kalista Jordan's throat. Is that correct?"
    "Yes."
    "Did you remove that ligature yourself?"
    "I did."
    "And where did you do this?"
    "In the examination room at the coroners office. As part of the pre autopsy examination. We also took photographs at that time."
    "And as part of that examination, were you able to determine anything else regarding possible identification of the perpetrator of this crime?"
    "I was able to make certain determinations."
    "For example?"
    "Based on the placement of the ligature around the victim's throat, it is my opinion that the killer was left-handed."
    As he says this, Crone, who has been copiously taking notes at the table next to